New Song (+Link): Paul McCartney Announces LP, Releases Single, “Days We Left Behind”

“Looking back at white and black
Reminders of my past
Smoky bars and cheap guitars
But nothing built to last”

– Paul McCartney, “Days We Left Behind”

The rumors have been percolating for years about a new Paul McCartney album. He’s been reportedly working with producer-of-the-moment Andrew Watt for a while now. Watt has famously worked with Iggy Pop, Pearl Jam, Ozzy and the Stones to name but a few. I read somewhere this week that McCartney had 25 songs ready to release. Spoiler alert: it’s actually 14 songs.

And this on the heels of his documentary Man On The Run. McCartney certainly stays busy.

Today, McCartney put all that speculation aside and shut down the knitting circle gossip. McCartney is indeed releasing a new album, the nostalgically titled The Boys Of Dungeon Lane, a reference to his old Liverpool neighborhood. Accompanying the new announcement is the release of the first single from the record, “Days We Left Behind.”

I am excited about this announcement for myriad of reasons, beyond just the obvious Paul McCartney has a new album coming out (!!!) excitement. It’s been six years since his last album which seems like very long time for McCartney between albums. His last record was the Covid-era McCartney III.

McCartney III, in the tradition of his solo debut McCartney and his 1980 experimental album McCartney II, was a homespun, adventurous affair. But I have to admit, it had the feel of a minor release. Something that was a stop gap. His last full on record prior was Egypt Station from 2018. Perhaps that’s why this album feels just a little more special. That and he’s 83… how much more great music can we expect from Paul?

I’m also pleased he’s working with Watt. People complain a lot about Watt’s production. There’s really two roles a producer plays. The first, and foremost, is to pull the best performance that he can from the artist. On that, Watt excels. The second part is the technical aspect of recording an album. Watt tends to overly compress the music he produces (aka “brickwall”) and there I can understand the complaints.

I think Watt working with McCartney will create some fascinating music, much like McCartney’s album Chaos And Creation In The Back Yard. He’s got a producer who hopefully pushed him a little harder.

McCartney’s solo career really took a “header” in the 80s. I began to wonder if he was done back then. But when he released Flaming Pie in 1997 it was one of the greatest comeback albums ever. And thankfully it signaled not just a one off but an actual career comeback much like Dylan or Neil Young. We need more excellent McCartney music in the world.

Since then we’ve had a string of great albums from Paul including Memory Almost Full (2007), New (2013), and Run Devil Run (1999). The title of this new one, The Boys From Dungeon Lane signals that this may be a nostalgic run of songs, like say, “That Was Me.”

My suspicion on the nostalgic nature of this album was confirmed with the release of the first single, “Days We Left Behind.” The track is perhaps the definition of “wistful ballad.” It’s beautiful in a way that only having a few years on you will allow you to understand. It’s an acoustic guitar led track. I do hear old fans grumbling about his vocals these days. Again, the man is 83. Try Leonard Cohen’s voice toward the end (You Want It Darker).

Here is a snippet of the track:

I think it’s a beautiful, sad track but it leaves me wanting more from this album! Like everybody I’ll just have to wait for late May. McCartney does struggle to pick a first single sometimes. Rumor has it an old friend who’s a drummer appears on a few tracks on the new one… gee I wonder who that could be? Paging Ringo…

The more I listen to this song, the more I realize what a great track this is, perhaps his best in quite a while and that’s saying something. He’s been making great music in his latter career.

I think this is going to turn out to be quite a wonderful year for new music. We’ve already had great singles from the Black Keys and Social Distortion with new albums on the way!. We’ve had great LPs from Lucinda Williams, Van Morrison and the Black Crowes. And now McCartney at last is releasing his next LP!

It’s a dark place out there right now… we need all the great rock n roll sunshine we can get around here!! I love Paul and think this may be a very special album. Only time will tell.

Cheers!